What began in chaos ended in a triumph of sorts as Tottenham endured a return to Europe's premier cup competition that was in turn harrowing and then uplifting.

In 28 horrible minutes in the Stade de Suisse they were 3-0 down to a rampaging Young Boys of Berne side and heading towards the Europa, not the Champions, League.

In a city which was named after the first animal to be hunted in the surrounding forests, it was as if Harry Redknapp's team had entered a bear pit of their own.

Back in it: Roman Pavlyuchenko scores late in the day to keep Spurs in the tie

That they managed to steady themselves, limit the damage, then score two away goals - the second a wonderfully judged rising shot from Roman Pavlyuchenko - was testament to the belief that Redknapp has instilled in his side. It was also a triumph for his coaching ability.

He sent on the majestic Tom Huddlestone nine minutes before half-time and then changed Tottenham's system to reverse the tide that was sweeping his side away.

The scoring sequence evoked memories of Spurs' previous foray into this competition 49 years ago, which began with a 4-2 defeat by Gornik Zabrze, during which they also trailed 3-0.

Taken to school: Swiss side Young Boys raced into a 3-0 lead in Tuesday's first leg Champions League play off

If the road to Berne has been long
and winding, little could have prepared Redknapp's men for a
cataclysmic opening half-hour in which it appeared the tie and the
Champions League dream had been put agonisingly out of reach.

The
artificial pitch, craftily watered just before kick-off to make it even
slicker, played a role in unsettling them defensively, although not the
one that might have been expected.

It was the pace at which the ball moved along the skiddy surface rather
than awkward bounces which had the Spurs players either diving into
tackles and coming out with neither man nor ball, or paralysed into
inertia by fear of committing themselves.

Down and (almost) out: Palacios reacts as Tottenham concede their third and with it the prospect of an embarrassing Euro exit

They
did not heed the warning of the second minute, when Young Boys moved
the ball to Senad Lulic on the edge of the area and his grasscutter of
a shot struck the base of the post. Two minutes after that the Swiss
side were ahead.

From
a free-kick, the ball broke to Thierry Doubai in the area. His shot
struck his own man, defender Ammar Jemal, on the back and broke
perfectly for Lulic to sidefoot past Heurelho Gomes into the bottom
corner.

Tottenham
were stunned and defensive hesitation was transformed into panic. In
the 13th minute, Michael Dawson repeated the error he made while
playing for England in last week's friendly against Hungary. Utterly
misjudging a through ball and not knowing whether to intercept it or
drop back, he did neither, leaving Henri Bienvenu to stride forward and
calmly stroke his shot home.

Urged
on by the near-capacity 30,000 crowd, Young Boys leapt at Tottenham's
jugular. With Xavier Hochstrasser already on the move, Moreno Costanzo
slid his pass inside Sebastien Bassong and the midfielder's assured
finish did the rest.

Redknapp
had seen enough. Huddlestone replaced the outclassed Benoit
Assou-Ekotto 10 minutes before the break. Gareth Bale dropped to left
back and Luka Modric moved to a wider role on the left of the Tottenham
midfield.

The plan,
born of desperation, worked a treat. The English side started to keep
control of the ball and began to push their hosts back. They needed a
goal, though, and duly found one three minutes before the interval
when, from a Bale corner, Bassong leapt highest to power home a bullet
header.

Redknapp was
forced into another substitution at half-time, with Niko Kranjcar
taking over from injured fellow Croat Modric. Tottenham sacrificed
width on the left to further shore up the midfield. Huddlestone's
presence in front of his back four remained critical to the hopes of
leaving Switzerland with the group stages still a possibility.

Patrolling
the centre of the pitch, cajoling his team-mates, playing an easy pass
here, making a calm interception there, it was a masterclass in
quelling the terror which had afflicted Tottenham prior to his arrival
on the pitch.

Head boy: Sebastien Bassong pulls one back for Spurs just before half-time

The Premier
League side ought to have further reduced their arrears in the 55th
minute. Bale galloped down the left and curled in a teasing low cross
which just evaded the outstretched leg of Jermain Defoe but then
bounced off the shin of Pavlyuchenko and over the bar.

Tottenham's
third change 24 minutes from time was also enforced. Defoe walked off
gingerly, appearing as if he might have pulled a groin muscle. Robbie
Keane replaced him. Within two minutes he looked on helplessly as
Bienvenu connected with a floated David Degen free-kick but just failed
to keep his header below the bar.

Next,
Young Boys substitute Christian Schneuwly had two opportunities to put
the game beyond Spurs, shooting over on both occasions, the first after
a poor back pass by Wilson Palacios, the second following uncertain
goalkeeping by Gomes.

The
escape proved pivotal. Within seconds of that second miss, Pavlyuchenko
scored the goal which set Tottenham fair for a memorable comeback at
White Hart Lane a week tonight. Stepping over a Vedran Corluka pass,
the Russian collected Keane's pass and lashed the ball gleefully into
the roof of the net.

The
relief among the 1,900 official Tottenham fans and a number of pockets
of unofficial supporters dotted around the Stade de Suisse was
palpable. The dream is still alive - just.